Ore-pulverizing apparatus.



No'. 786,088. PATENTED MAR. 28, 1905. E. H. BENJAMIN.

ORE PULVERIZING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 11, 1904.

PATENTED MAR. 28, 1905.

E. H. BENJAMIN. ORE'ULVERIZING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 11I 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

lill/1,11',

PATENTED MAR. 28, 1905.

E. H. BENJAMIN. ORE PULVERIZING APPARATUS.

AIPLIOATION FILED MAY l1, 1904.

a SHEETS-SHEET a.

UNITED STATES Patented March 28, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

ORE-PULVERIZING APPRATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 786,088, dated March 28, 1905.

Application filed May 1l, 1904. Serial No. 207,425.

T0 all 1,071,071?, t may concern:

Beit known that I, EDWARD H EWLETT BEN- JAMIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oakland, county of Alameda, State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ore-Pulverizing Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

The present invention relates to an improved machine for pulverizing previouslybroken ore fed thereto from any suitable device and delivering the same against the inner periphery of a die ring or wall with an impact blow of such force as to pulverize the material to the desired degree of hneness,` the ore being ejected from a rotary receiving platform or disk by centrifugal force, the essential features of the invention residing more particularly in a spring or tension held bearing for the driven vertical shaft, in the means for regulating the action of the said bearing to compensate for or take up the lateral strains or shocks to which the rotating vertical shaft is subjected during the working of the ore, in the details of construction whereby the active working parts of the machine are maintained cool during the operation of pulverizing the ore, in the construction of the shoes for causing the discharge of the ore to be pulverized from the receiving-disk, in the provision made for indicating to the operator of the machine when the shoes have become so worn as to require the insertion of new slices, and in the arrangement of parts whereby the bearings are protected against dust working therein.

To comprehend the invention, reference should be had to the accompanying sheets of drawings, whereinw Figure l is a broken part-sectional view of the mill in elevation, fully disclosing the central drive-shaft, the lower ball or universal bearing, and the central spring or tension held bearing for the said shaft; also, the pressure or tension means acting against the said bearing to take up the lateral strains or shocks to which the central drive-shaft is subjected during the working of the machine. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the machine with its cover removed, the retaining-disk for the ore being partly broken away. Fig. 3 is a view in elevation of the machine suitably mounted, illustrating the drive-belt for operating the central vertical shaft of the mill, the feed-hopper for supplying the material to be acted on to the machine, the vibratory screen table onto which the discharged material is received, the endless conveyer for returning the unpulverized material discharged from the mill to the feed-hopper. and the means for operating the vibratory screen-table and the said conveyer. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the receiving-disk for the material to be pulverized. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the receiving-disk, taken on line L a of Fig. 4 of the drawings. Fig. 6 is a plan View of one of the shoes which guide the material toward the periphery of the receiving-disk. Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional rear end view in elevation of one of the shoes, taken on line Fig. 6, of the drawings.

nFig. 8 is a perspective view of one of the shoes; and Fig. 9 1s a cross-sectional top plan view taken through the central guide-pillar and the floating bearing, as indicated by dotted line Z CZ, Fig. 1 of the drawings.

In the drawings the numeral l is used to designate the outer shell or casing for the mill, and 2 the cover therefor, said cover being secured to the open top of the casing by means of the screw-bolts 3, which pass through the circular flanges 4 4C The upper portion of the shell or casing is somewhat enlarged, as shown at 5, so as to receive the circular die ring 6, which ring is held positioned within the enlarged' upper portion 5 of the shell or casing by means of the screw-bolts 7.

The shell or casing l is formed with an interior guide-pillar 8, through which extends a vertical drive -shaft 9. To this shaft is keyed, feathered, or otherwise secured a beltpulley 10, over which pulley works the drivebelt 11. This belt leads from any suitable mechanism for operating the mill, the travel of which belt 11 operates to impart rotation to the vertical shaft 9. The said belt 1l works through a well 12, formed in the guide-pillar 8. For the purpose of additional strength and rigidity the guide-pillar 8 is connected to the inner wall of the shell or casing l by means of the webs 13. Within the lower portion of the guide-pillar 8 is formed an oilwell 14, into which is fitted a thimble 15, against the inner face of which works the convexed surface of the bearing 16, fixed to the vertical drive-shaft 9, extending through the thimble 15. Owing to the convexity of the bearing 16, located within the thimble 15, a gyratory motion is permitted to the driveshaft 9 during its rotation. The lower end of the drive-shaft 9 is countersunk to receive a wear-button 17, against which works the ballbearing 18, heldin place by the cap 19, secured on the lower screw-threaded end of the said shaft 9. The ball-bearing 18 also works against a wear-button 20, fitted within a countersunk seat 21, formed in the upper end of the adjustable plug 22, which plug screws through the lower end of the guide-pillar 8 and extends into the oil-well 14, so that the universal ball-bearing joint for the vertical drive-shaft 9 is at all times lubricated by the oil held within the well 14. The plug 22 is adjusted to compensate for wear of the buttons 17 and 2O or to raise and lower the vertical drive-shaft 9 by means of the nut 23.

In order to protect the described lower convex bearing 16 against the admission of dust thereto, there is screwed into the upper end of the thimble 15 acollar 24, the upper end of which collar rests within a countersunk seat 25 in the lower end of thebelt-pulley 10, Fig. 1 of the drawings.

The upper end of the vertical shaft 9 carries a circular head 26, on which restsl what shall be termed a receiving-disk 27. The head 26 rotates within the sphere ofthe cuplike extension 28 of the central guide-pillar 8. Above the receiving-disk is held a retainingdisk 29, the diameter of which disk is somewhat greater than that of the receiving-disk 27, so as to approximately close the circular opening formed by the die-ring 6 and prevent the material thrown thereagainst flying upward into the interior chamber 29', formed by the cone-shaped cover 2. The disks 27 and 29 are held separated by the shoes 30, the distance between the said disks being controlled by the height of the shoe. Each shoe 30 is 'formed with an upper projecting lug 31 and a lower projecting lug 32, which lugs fit into the slots 33 33', formed, respectively, in the retaining and receiving disks. By means of these lugs the shoes are held against displacement during the working of the machine. The disks 27 and 29 are firmly held together by means of the bolts 34, which bolts pass through said disks and the head 26 of the central vertical shaft and are drawn down by the nuts 34, which work against the under face of the said head 26. These nuts 34 project into the cup-like extensions 28 of the central guide-pillar 8 and during the rotation of the drive-shaft serve to create an air-current upwardly through the said central guide-pillar 8 for maintaining cool the rotating disks, shoes, and the hereinafter-described floating bearing for the drive-shaft.

The spring or tension held bearing for the drive-shaft, Fig. 1 of the drawings, consists of a bearing-sleeve 35, held within the upper portion of the vertical guide-pillar 8, said sleeve being held against downward movement by a flange 36, which bears upon a shoulder 37 of the said central guide-pillar. Through this bearing-sleeve is fitted the drive-shaft 9, said shaft being slightly less in diameter than that of the bearing-sleeve, so as to leave a clearance-space for limited lateral play or vibration of the drive-shaft without the same pressing against the inner wall of the bearingsleeve 35. This sleeve is held in vertical position or balanced by means of a series of transverse tension-rods 38, preferably eight in number, which are so arranged as to exert an even pressure against the bearing-sleeve at all points of contact. These rods at their inner end bear against removable wear-plates 38', fitted between the outer wall of the bearing-sleeve 35 and the inner wall of the guidepillar 8, said plates being prevented from vertical movement by means of the outturned flanged ends 39 39 thereof bearing, respectively, against the shoulders 37 and 37 of the said guide-pillar.

The guide-pillar has heretofore been treated as an integral structure; but preferably it is made in two sections, which are united by screwing the upper section onto the lower section, Eig. 1 of the drawings. However, for the purpose of the present invention the central guide-pillar may be considered as an integral structure.

The outer end of each tension-rod 38 extends through an adjustable cap 40, which screws onto a thimble 41, screwed into the shell or casing 1 of the machine. It will be understood that a thimble 41 and cap 40 are provided for each tension-rod. Each rod near its outer end is provided with a collar 42, and within each thimble 41 is located a pressure-spring 42'. These springs surround the outer end portion of the tension-rods 38 and bear against the collars 42 and caps 40. As the caps 40 are screwed on or off the thimbles 41 the tension of the springs is increased or decreased accordingly. Hence a variable tension is provided for the bearing-sleeve 35, which may be proportioned to the character of the material being worked within the machine.

The described spring or tension held or balanced bearing will give in all directions to the lateral strains of the rotating drive-shaft 9;

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but the pressure exerted thereon must be such as to overcome the inward' resistance offered to the movement of the said bearing by the force of the tension-rods acting thereagainst at such point of outward pressure.

Each shoe 30 is formed on the rear face of its tail portion with an outwardly-curved eX- tension 43, which partly encircles the tie-bolts 34 to protect the same against the wear which otherwise would result thereto in case the material to be pulverized be permitted to act thereon.

In the outer face of each shoe 3Q is formed a guide-groove 43', which gradually increases in depth toward the outer end of the shoe. This groove from pointf to f' is formed radially to the drive-shaft, while from point f to f2 the groove corresponds to that of an involute curve. By this construction of the guide-groove 43 the material to be pulverized commences its outward travel radially to the drive-disk` which direction is gradually changed by the involute-curved portion of the groove, so as to impart such movement as to discharge the material from the receivingdisk 27 at a tangent to the revolving disks 27 and 29.

In the rear face of each shoe 30, near the outer end thereof, is a bore 44, the depth of which is such that when the face of the shoe has become worn to the line g g an inrush of air takes place, which results in a whistling of the shoe. This whistling notifies the operator of the machine thata new shoe is required. The wear permitted the shoes is controlled by the depth of the bore.

The material to be pulverized is delivered into the throat 45 of the cover 2 from thefeedhopper 45', said material being discharged from the throat 45 onto a central cone 46 of the receiving-disk 27 through a central feedopening 46 in the retaining-disk 29. As the material falls on the central cone 46 it is evenly distributed onto the surface of the receivingdisk 27 between lche fixed guide-shoes l30. The moment the material reaches the surface of the said receiving-disk 27 it is thrown outward with great force, due to the high speed at which the disk rotates, being conveyed toward the periphery thereof by the grooved guideshoes. The material being thrown from the receiving disk at a high velocity impacts against the inner surface of the die-ring 6 with a blow suflicient to cause the pulverization thereof, the material being held down by means of the retaining-disk 29.

The pulverized material falls uninterruptedly through the open casing or shell l into the discharge-chute 462, which delivers the material to a vibratory screen-table 463. As the material is passed over this vibratory screentable the perfectly-pulverized material falls therethrough into the closed collector 47 and is discharged therefrom by any suitable form of a conveyer 47. Such of the material as has not been pulverized is discharged from the vibratory screen-table 463 into the hopper 48, from which itis removed by the endless bucket conveyer 48' and discharged into the feed-chute 49 to be redelivered into the machine. This endless conveyer travels within an inclosed runway 49, said conveyer working over beltpulleys on the upper and lower shafts 50 51. The upper shaft 50 is driven by means of a belt 52, working over pulleys on shafts 52 and 50. The shaft 52 is driven by any suitable power mechanism, the motion of said shaft being transmitted to operate the eccentric 53 by belt 53. Connectionbetween the eccentric 53 and the vibratory screen-table 463 is made by the crank-rod 54.

The sensitive and responsive bearing provided for the vertical central drive-shaft 9 permits of the same being driven at an exceedingly high rate of speed, which, being over two thousand revolutions per minute, throws the material from between the disks 27 and 29 with such velocity as to cause the impact-blow thereof against the inner face of the die-ring 6 to instantly pulverize the same. The speed at which the 'disks are driven is an important feature of the machine in order to eject the material with sufiicient velocity to cause the pulverization thereof when brought up against the die-ring. Hence the necessity of a yielding bearing for the drive-shaft to enable the said shaft 9 to respond without undue strain due to the unbalanced and variable ore-loads placed onto the receiving-disk and the reason for the provision made for maintaining the parts cool during the working of the machine.

It is believed that the upward current of air or central air-draft created by the nuts 34 being carried around at a high speed within the cup-like extension 28 of the central guidepillar will suffice to maintain the suspended bearing free from the admission of dust thereto. The air drawn upwardly through the exible bearing during the rotation of the wheel is drawn from the pulley chamber or well 12, formed in the guide-pillar 8, it being understood that said well or pulley-chamber is cut off from communication with the dust-laden air of the casing by means of the usual web connection between the said guide-pillar and the outer wall of the casing. However, to positively insure against the admission of dust into the suspended bearing it is deemed advisable to provide a dust-guard ring 55. This ring is fitted within the cup-like extension 28 of the central pillar and partly covers the upper surface of the flange 36 of the bearingsleeve 35.

It will be understood that the use of the present machine is not confined to the pulverization of ore, but is equally as well adapted for the successful pulverizing of cement and any other material desired to be reduced into the form of a powder.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be protected by Letters Patent, is*` 1. In an apparatus for the described purpose, the combination with the shell or casing, of a central guide-pillar within the shell or casing, an oil-well in the lower end of the said pillar, an adjustable plug working through lOO ISO

the bottom of the pillar, a central drive-shaft working' within the pillar, a universal ballbearing joint between the lower end of tho drive-shaft and the adjustable plug, a thimble fitted within the oil-well, a convex bearingsleeve secured to the drive-shaft to work against the thimble, a spring-held bearing interposed between the upper portion of the drive-shaft and the central pillar, means for exerting` lateral spring'-1n'essu1'e tension on the floating beai'ing, and devices carried by the drive-shaft for creating an upward airdraft tln'ough the said bearing during' rotation of the said shaft.

2. In an apparatus for the described pui'- pose, the combination with an outer inclosing' shell o1' casing, of a die-ring held within the upper portion thereof, of a central g'uide-pillar within the shell or casing, of a central drive-shaft extending through said guide-pillar, of a spring-held bearing interposed between the shaft and the g'uide-pillar, of means secured to the upper end of the central shaft for i'eceiving the ore to be pulverized and directing' the same against the die-ring, and devices carried by the said means for creating an upward air-draft through the bearing for maintaining cool the working' parts during` rotation of the shaft.

3. In an apparatus for the described purpose, thecombination with the outer shell or casing', of a central g'uidepillar arranged therein, arotatable drive-shaft working` within the pillar, a' ball-bearing' for the lower end of the shaft, a yielding bearing' interposed between the upper portion of the shaft and the gu'ide-pillar, of means for maintaining lateral spring tension on the said yielding bearing', a receiving-disk and a retaining-disk carried by the drive-shaft, guide-shoes held between the said disks, means for holding the disks locked to the head of the (,lriife-shaft, a die-ringl located within the upper portion of the outer casing' or shell, and means for supplying material through the retaining-disk onto the receiving-disk.

4. In an apparatus for the described purpose, the combination with the outer inclosing shell or casing, of a die-ring' held within the upper portion thereof, of a guide-pillar within the said shell or casing, of a central driveshaft extending' through the guide-pillar, a spring-held bearing interposed between the said g'uide-pillar and the central shaft, of a receiving-disk mounted on the upper end of the central shaft, a retaining-disk located above the receiving-disk, a series of slots cut in each disk, of a series of guide-shoes held between the disks, lug's projecting from the shoes which fit within the slots of the receiving and retaining disks, and means for holding the disks locked to the head of the drive-shaft.

' 5. In an apparatus for the described purpose, the combination with an outer shell or casing, of a guide-pillar arranged therein, of

a drive-shaft extending through said g'uide, of a yielding bearing interposed between the upper portion of the drive-shaft and the guidepillar, of means for maintaining lateral spring' tension on the said yielding bearing, of a receiving-disk and a retaining-disk carried by the 'drive-shaft, a series of guide-shoes held between the said disks. and a die-ring located within the upper portion of the outer shell or casing'.

6. A g'uide-shoe for an apparatus for the described purpose having' a grooved wearingface, and provided with a bore to indicate when the face of the shoe has become worn to a predetermined depth.

7. In an apparatus for the described pui'- pose, the combination with the outer shell or casing, of a die-ring held within the upper portion thereof, a guide-pillar within the shell or casing, of a rotatable drive-shaft extending through said guide-pillar, of a yielding bearing interposed between the guide-pillar and the drive-shaft, of means for maintaining lateral tension on the said yielding bearing, and a receiving-disk secured on the upper end and carried by the drive-shaft, said disk receiving the ore to be pulverized against the die-ring.

8. In an apparatus for the described purpose, a series of guide-shoes, securing-lugs carried by each shoe, a curved grooved wearface to each shoe, and a bore in each shoe to indicate when the shoe has become worn to a predetermined depth.

9. In an apparatus for the described purpose, the combination with an outer' inclosing casing', of a die-ring held within the upper portion thereof, of a vertical drive-shaft working within the casing, a yieldingl bearing for the drive-shaft, devices for maintaining a spring tension on the said bearing', of means on the upper end of the drive-shaft for receiving the ore to be pulverized and delivering the same against the die-ring', of devices carried by said means for creating' an upward air-draft through the bearing' during rotation of the dri\f'es'haft, and means for protecting the bearing' against the admission of dust thereto.

l0. In an apparatus for the described purpose, the combination with an outer casing, of a die-ring held within the upper portion thereof, of a drive-shaft working in the casing, a floating bearing for the drive-shaft, devices 'for maintaining' a spring tension on the said bearing, of means on the upper end of the drive-shaft for receiving the ore to be pulverized and delivering the same against the die-ring, of devices carried by said means for creating an upward air-draft through the bearing' during the rotation of the d rive-shaft, and means for protecting' the bearing against the admission of dust thereto.

l1. In an apparatus for the described purpose, the combination with an outer shell or casing', of a die-ring arranged within the up- IOO IIO

per portion thereof, of a central guide-pillar Within the casing, of a drive-shaft Working in the guide-pillar, an oil-well-into which the lower end of the shaft extends, of a ball-bearing for the drive-shaft, of a springheld or tension bearing interposed between the upper portion of the shaft and the guide-pillar, of means for maintaining a uniform tension on the spring-held or tension bearing, of a receiving-'disk and a spaced retaining-disk held locked to the head of the drive-shaft, a series of guide-shoes held between the disks, means for supplying material to the receiving-disk 

